Crisis-hit member states turn to EU solidarity fund for help

EU member states hit by floods and forest fires could ask the European Commission for financial help to repair the damage this month.

A €1 billion European solidarity fund is expected to attract aid applications from the UK, where floods have destroyed property across the country, as well as parts of southern Europe, where forest fires have been rife.

"We have not yet had any formal requests but I think we can confidently expect to receive some," said a spokeswoman for the Commission’s regional policy department, which manages the solidarity fund.

Countries have up to ten weeks after the disaster to put together evidence and request money from the fund. The damage caused has to amount to a minimum of €3bn, or 0.6% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

The first application is likely to come from the UK, the country closest to the ten-week deadline. Floods started in northern England in June, before ravaging the south last month.

"We are working on an application for funding from the EU Solidarity Fund," said John Healey, the UK member of parliament responsible for managing flood recovery measures.

The solidarity fund was established in 2002, following floods in central Europe that killed more than 100 people and left thousands temporarily homeless. Last year it handed out almost €100 million to help Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden deal with storm damage from 2005.

Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Bulgaria and Macedonia have already received help to combat forest fires through another scheme, the Community Civil Protection Mechanism. This mechanism is managed by the Commission but co-ordinates assistance from the member states, including aeroplanes and fire fighting equipment.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis on Tuesday (31 July) called for a Europe-wide rapid reaction force on forest fires.

Stavros Dimas, the European environment commissioner, welcomed their suggestion as a way to build on the Civil Protection Mechanism. "Reality proves that this idea…is a necessary step for the member states," said the commissioner. "It is now time to enhance this mechanism, so that in the future we can be even more efficient," he added.

EU member states hit by floods and forest fires could ask the European Commission for financial help to repair the damage this month.